Get Ready! Quick Tips for Fall Semester

We discuss examples and give you links to accessibility resources and ideas about access technologies.

Accommodations

Accommodations are changes to the design of environments, and auxiliary aids and services that allow individuals with disabilities to access facilities and fully participate in programs at school or work. To figure out what accommodations might be appropriate and effective in a class or other educational setting, the student, faculty and Disability Resources staff often work together to identify barriers in the environment.

In Class

If you haven't done it yet, make an appointment with the campus Disability Resources office to register with the office and arrange for any accommodations you'll need for your classes.

You might need to provide "documentation" of your disability to the office so that they understand how it impacts you, and the barriers you might encounter. If you want more information on documentation, check out the "Prove It!" training here in the NCCSD Training Center.

Once you're registered, most Disability Resources offices will put together a letter addressed to your instructors that explains what accommodations you might need and what steps the instructor might need to do. Your classroom accommodations apply to anything related to the class, like labs, discussion groups, videos, guest presentations, field trips, etc.

If any of your instructors has questions about the accommodations that you can't answer, he/she should contact Disability Resources office.

Out of the Classroom

Your university or college is responsible for making its facilities and programs accessible to all students. This includes spaces, activities and events outside of class that it offers.

Often you will see a statement on posters or websites for events that say something like, "If you need disability accommodations for this event, please contact...." That means the sponsor of the program is being proactive about accessibility. Call or email the contact person on the flyer as soon as you can to tell them what accommodations you might need.

Other advertisements don't have that statement. It might mean they haven't thought about accessibility or don't know what to do. But you can still request accommodations. If there's a contact number use that; if not, contact the Disability Resources office about the event.

Internship and Practicum sites must also provide disability accommodations to students who need them to perform tasks there. You usually arrange for these with the Internship Coordinator and Site Supervisor.

Disabled students are eligible for accommodations in Work-Study positions, and jobs on and off campus, too! Student Employment and Disability Resources can help with that.

The NCCSD is based with the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Please see caveats on the home page about assuming the NCCSD, AHEAD or the US Dept. of Education agree with all content on linked pages, and we can't guarantee the accessibility of other sites.

All images are from Bigstock.com or public domain except where noted. The material on this website is available in alternative formats upon request. Questions, concerns or requests about accessibility should be sent to nccsd@ahead.org.